25.11.12

When I saw these cute Seckel pears on
the grocery store I immediately thought to use them to decorate some tartlets. These
little sweet pears are perfect for a delicious and beautiful dessert, especially
when they are poached in sweet wines. I used this time French sweet wine
Sauternes, but you can also use Tokay, Beaumes de Venise, and orange Muscat. The tartlets crusts were made with almond sweet pastry and filled with mascarpone
cream.

Pear Mascarpone Tartlets

(Makes 8 mini tartlets)

Pears in
Sauternes wine

Adapted
from the book Ripe: A Cook in the Orchard by Nigel Slater

4 small pears ( I used

Seckel pears but you can use other hard varieties)

Juice of
half a lemon

1 cup / 200g
sugar

A vanilla
pod

1 tbsp honey

200 ml Sauternes wine or other sweet wine

Wipe the
pears and cut each one in half lengthwise. Put into a deep saucepan with the
juice of the half lemon, the sugar, vanilla, wine, and 1 2/3 cups / 400 ml of
water. Bring to a boil, and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Let the pears
cook gently until they are completely tender to the point of a knife. This will
take a good forty-five minutes, maybe longer. Don’t even think undercooking
then.

Pâte
Sucrée aux Amandes

Sweet
almond Pastry

From the
book Ladurée Sucré

(Makes 16
oz/ 450 g of dough)

½ cup
/120 g butter, very cold

½ cup + 1
tbsp / 70 g confectioners’ icing sugar

¼ cup/ 25
g ground almonds

1 pinch
of fleur de sel (or other coarse sea salt)

1 pinch
of vanilla powder (or a few drops of vanilla extract)

1 egg

1 2/3
cups / 200g cake flour

Sift the confectioners’
sugar. Cut the butter into small pieces and place in a bowl of the stand mixer
fitted with the paddle attachment. Work the butter to homogenize and then add
the following ingredients, one by one, making sure to fully incorporate each
into the mixture before the next addition: sifted confectioner’s sugar, ground
almonds, fleur de sel, vanilla, egg and flour. Combine ingredients just until
the dough comes together; do not overwork the dough. This will give the pastry
its desired crumbly texture.

Form the
dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2
hours before using. If possible, it is better to prepare the dough one day ahead;
it will be easier to cool out.

Butter
the tart pan. On a floured work surface, roll out the dough to 1/10 inch / 2 mm
thick and press into the buttered pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat the oven
to 340 °F / 170 °C. Remove tart shell from refrigerator. Using a fork, prick
the surface of the dough to keep from puffing up during baking. Bake for
approximately 25 minutes until light coloured.

Mascarpone
Cream

Adapted from the
book Ladurée Sucré

2 gelatin
sheets (1/2 tbsp / 4 g powdered gelatin)

¼ cup /
60 ml heavy cream

½ cup
+tbsp / 125 g granulated sugar

2 cups
/ 400 g mascarpone

Place the
gelatin sheets in a small bowl of very cold water. Allow to soften for 10 minutes.

Drain the
gelatin sheets, squeezing hard to remove all excess liquid. In a saucepan, bring
the cream and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and incorporate the drained
gelatin. Allow to cool completely.

Using a
wooden or rubber spatula, first mix the mascarpone by itself in a bowl until
smooth. Continue to mix and little by little, pour in the cold mixture above.
Fill the cooled baked tarts shell with mascarpone cream. Freeze for 20 minutes
until the cream is firm.

21.11.12

This
year I prepared for dessert a delicious Golden Hubbard Mascarpone Tart. My inspiration came from the pumpkin compote that my mom used
to make (or "doce de abóbora" in Portuguese). This is a very
traditional dessert in my country and it’s basically made like a preserve using
squash, sugar and spices.

First,
I chose a beautiful Golden Hubbard squash. Then I cooked it with sugar and some
cloves, but feel free to add other spices you like. To get a smooth filling, I
incorporated to the compote a cardamom-infused mascarpone cream. The tart crust
is a sweet almond pastry from the book Ladurée Sucré. I also made a little leaf
with fondant to decorate it.

Sift the
confectioners’ sugar. Cut the butter into small pieces and place in a bowl of
the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Work the butter to
homogenize and then add the following ingredients, one by one, making sure to
fully incorporate each into the mixture before the next addition: sifted
confectioner’s sugar, ground almonds, fleur de sel, vanilla, egg and flour.
Combine ingredients just until the dough comes together; do not overwork the
dough. This will give the pastry its desired crumbly texture.

Form the
dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2
hours before using. If possible, it is better to prepare the dough one day
ahead; it will be easier to cool out.

Butter the
tart pan. On a floured work surface, roll out the dough to 1/5 inch / 5 mm
thick and press into the buttered pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat the oven
to 340 °F / 170 °C. Remove tart shell from refrigerator. Using a fork, prick
the surface of the dough to keep from puffing up during baking. Bake for
approximately 25 minutes until light coloured.

Golden Hubbard Compote

(Doce de Abóbora)

500g Golden Hubbard (remove
the seeds, peel and cut in small cubes before measuring)

200g sugar

6 cloves

Place all the ingredients in
a saucepan and mix well. It's not necessary adding water as the squash will
start release water in contact with sugar. Cook over lower
heat about one hour or until the liquid is gone, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Cardamom-
flavored Mascarpone Cream

Inspired by
the books Ladurée Sucré and Pierre Hermé Pastries

4 g green
cardamom seeds

1/2 tbsp /
4 g powdered gelatin

¼ cup / 60
ml heavy cream

½ cup
/ 75 g granulated sugar

1 cup
/ 300 g mascarpone

Place the
gelatin sheets in a small bowl of very cold water. Allow to soften for 10
minutes.

Drain the
gelatin sheets, squeezing hard to remove all excess liquid. In a saucepan,
bring the cream, cardamom and sugar to a boil. Set aside to infuse for
30 minutes, then strain. Pour the mixture back into saucepan and
bring to a boil. Remove from heat and incorporate the drained gelatin. Allow to
cool completely.

Using a
wooden or rubber spatula, first mix the mascarpone by itself in a bowl until
smooth. Continue to mix and little by little, pour in the cold mixture above.

Golden Hubbard Mascarpone
Cream

In a bowl, place the Golden Hubbard compote and
the mascarpone cream (left about 1/2 cup for decorating). Blend with a
handheld immersion blender until smooth.

Assembly

Fill the cooled baked tart shell with Golden Hubbard mascarpone cream. Freeze
for 20 minutes until the cream is firm. Transfer the 1/2 cup cardamom
marcarpone cream to a piping bag fitted with a star tip and decorate the tart
with swirls.

8.11.12

Last week I was checking some photo albums on my computer when I
found pictures of peonies that I bought
last spring. Looking at the photos, I remembered the time I was
living in England. I was fortunate to have a peony on my house's garden.
Better then that! At every corner of my neighborhood, there was a garden
with a lot of peonies of every color and shape. Can you imagine my
happiness?

So, inspired by my photos and
that magical spring in England, I decided to try my
first sugar peony. I have to tell you that this pink peony was
the hardest flower I've ever made. I took some time to figure out how to shape the petals to look like the real one.

After making the flower, I started to think about the cake
flavor and a combination of chocolate and pistachio came to my
mind. So I prepared two different sponge cakes (dark chocolate
and pistachio), two different brigadeiro as filling (dark chocolate
and pistachio, again) and dark chocolate ganache as frosting. This is a delicious cake
for any occasion and celebration.

Chocolate and Pistachio Brigadeiro Cake

(From Lulu's Sweet Secrets)

Dark
Chocolate Cake

Makes
two 6-in round cake

200g
unsalted butter

, room temperature

175g
granulated sugar

225g
all-purpose flour, sifted

1
teaspoon baking powder

4 whole
large eggs, room temperature

135ml whole milk

200g
dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line the base of 2 round 6-in cake pans.Place
the butter and sugar in a stand mixer bowl and beat with the paddle attachment
until fluffy. Add the eggs one by one.Meanwhile,
heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil and then add
the dark chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Place the chocolate and milk
mixture over the eggs and sugar cream and beat for a minute. Fold in the flour and baking powder with a rubber spoon until
just incorporated (don't overmix). Bake for 40 minutes or
until risen and just firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Pistachio Cake

Makes two 6-in round cake

200g unsalted butter, room temperature

200g granulated sugar

170g all-purpose flour, sifted

60g ground pistachios

2 tablespoons Bronte Pistachio Cream

4 whole large eggs, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line the base of 2 round 6-in cake pans. Place the butter and sugar in a stand mixer bowl and beat with the paddle attachment until fluffy. Add the pistachio cream and beat for a minute. Add the eggs one by one and beat until well incorporated. Fold in the flour and ground pistachios with a rubber spoon until just incorporated (don't overmix). Bake for 40 minutes or until risen and just firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Dark Chocolate Brigadeiro
Filling

1 can sweetened
condensed milk

2 tablespoon unsalted
butter

100g dark chocolate

Place all the ingredients
into a medium saucepan. Over low heat, stir the mixture until thick consistency
or it starts to show the bottom of the pan while you scrape it with a spoon
(about 15 min). Transfer to a greased bowl to cool.

PistachioBrigadeiro Filling

1/2 can sweetened
condensed milk

1 tablespoon unsalted
butter

1 tablespoon Bronte Pistachio
Cream

30g ground pistachios

Place all the ingredients into a medium saucepan. Over low heat,
stir the mixture until thick consistency or it starts to show the bottom of the
pan while you scrape it with a spoon (about 15 min). Transfer to a
greased bowl to cool.

Dark Chocolate Ganache

18 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped2 cups heavy cream

Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from
heat, add chocolate, stand until melted (5 minutes), stir until smooth and
glossy. Refrigerate until firm yet still pliable (45 minutes-1 hour) then stir
until smooth.

Assembly

Place one chocolate cake on a serving plate. Spread half recipe
chocolate brigadeiroover top. Place the
pistachio cake on top. Spread the pistachio brigadeiro over top. Repeat
the chocolate cake and chocolate brigadeiro. Top with remaining pistachio
cake. Cover with chocolate ganache.

2.11.12

This is my last of three recipes from
the sweet table that I prepared to celebrate my 2th blog anniversary. Today I share with
you rose water and pink peppercorn brigadeiros. It has been a while that I
want to try this combination and I felt
this was a great opportunity to test it on my brigadeiros. I have to say I
loved the result. I should try that before! Pink peppercorn has a delicate fruitiness taste that gave a unique and delicious flavor to the brigadeiros.

I also tried another thing different. Normally brigadeiros are
covered with sprinkles, but this time I used fondant instead.
The fondant makes them more dainty to math with the cake
decoration.

Rose
Water and Pink Peppercorn Brigadeiros

( from Lulu's Sweet Secrets)

1can
sweetened condensed milk

2
tablespoon unsalted butter

1
tablespoon rose water

1
teaspoons (or to taste) finely ground pink peppercorn

100g white
chocolate

Sprinkles
or fondant for coating

Place
all the ingredients into a medium saucepan. Over low heat, stir the mixture
until thick consistency or it starts to show the bottom of the pan while you
scrape it with a spoon (about 15 min). Transfer to a greased
bowl. Grease your hands with butter, take small portions of dough and
shape it as little balls. Coat them with sprinkles or fondant and place them in
small paper cups.

1.11.12

As I promised on Sunday, here is the recipe of
the white chocolate cupcakes with rose buttercream that I created to
commemorate the Lulu’s Sweet Secrets anniversary.

It took me some attempts to figure out how to make a light and
fluffy white chocolate cupcake. But now I’m proud and glad to say that I made a
wonderful treat to your afternoon tea or party dessert table!

The best way I found was to first melt the white chocolate in
boiling milk. Then I whisked eggs and sugar until fluffy and pale yellow in
color, and added the hot white chocolate mixture. Finally, after the flour
addition, I incorporated melted butter. The rose buttercream on top is
the same recipe I used to filling the rose and pistachio cake.

Place
the eggs and sugar in a stand mixer bowl and beat with the paddle attachment until
fluffy and pale yellow in color. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a saucepan over
medium heat. Bring just to a boil and then add the white chocolate. Whisk until
smooth. Place the white chocolate and milk mixture over the eggs and sugar and
beat for a minute. Add the vanilla and mix until combine. Fold in the flour and baking powder with a rubber
spoon until just incorporated (don't overmix). Fold in the melted butter.

Fill
each cupcake line two-thirds full with batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until
risen and just firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Rose Water Buttercream

(from Jamie Magazine Issue 29)

Cream 80g softened butter and 115g sifted icing
sugar with an electric mixer or spatula until you have a smooth, creamy
buttercream. Add a splash of rose water and beat for a further minute. Taste
and add more if needed.

Tomorrow I will share the rose and pink peppercorn brigadeiros recipe.